I have lived here now in Pagosa for almost two years after meeting a woman with a beautiful heart and a loving soul. I am a southerner from Georgia and I transplanted myself here after meeting this woman and then marrying her after having lived in the south for 51 years and my previous wife of 25 years passing away a year or so before. I had lost my job of 20 years due to the economy, but was somewhat financially stable and ready to start a new life.

I consider myself very good with my hands on a variety of outside jobs as it’s personally more like a hobby to me and I enjoy doing this kind of work. I am not looking to get rich nor would I take advantage of another person wanting work done by me by charging an unheard of price as I have seen. As I said, I am financially stable and only look for a means to contribute to the household income. With that being said, this is what I have to say about trying to become self-employed and/or do subcontract work for others in Pagosa.

First and foremost, I have never met people (a few so far) like I have here that are not courteous. They are only concerned about themselves, are not trustworthy, will take from you in a heartbeat, take advantage of those with money, try to cheat you of an honest wage and care not about quality but are more concerned with what’s in it for them and how quick it can be done. Sure these are hard economic times, many people have lost their livelihood such as I did, their homes, their savings/investments and some their self-respect. But I was raised with a very strong work ethic, I am no slacker and only desire to do good quality work for a reasonable and fair price. But what happens here, I am not accustomed to nor want any part of.

I was subcontracted by a landscaper to do cleanup of lots, but wasn’t fast enough. He would rather hire Mexicans and prefers to do so. He still owes me for two jobs I did.

I put my name on the list with PLPOA to do property maintenance. One of the contacts for the property owners of a foreclosed home took my work away from me after I gave the lowest bid and telling him how I would do it. Shame on me.

I was raised in the south, taught to be courteous, well mannered, respectful and to work hard for an honest day’s wage. And I never have tried to take advantage of others, stab them in the back or be only concerned with what I get out of it. It’s called integrity. Something quite a few here in Pagosa Springs lack thereof. Thank you for this opportunity to vent my frustration and my anger, but now even more of a desire to succeed.

Rick Cargle

1A funds

Dear Editor

A letter to the Archuleta County Commissioners.

I write to ask you to reconsider your decision concerning the Nordic Council Open Space and Trail proposal and the Pagosa Springs Chamber of Commerce request for improvements to Town Park.

I sit on the Archuleta County Open Space and Trail Taskforce and appreciate the opportunity to do so.

When the Nordic Council submitted their first request, the county commissioners required that they include concrete ways in which they would publicize their cross country ski trails to help develop tourism in our community. This request of the commissioners seemed very much outside of the intent of the Open Space and Trails plan. Regardless, the Nordic Council resubmitted its funding request to address the commissioners’ wishes and accomplished what they said they would do. The Nordic Council has come before the commissioners again to ask for additional funds for equipment. In my mind, this request for equipment is no different than the schools asking for funds for playgrounds, the Humane Society request for dollars for fencing for their dog park or the school district asking for funds to upgrade their ball fields. The Nordic Council being respectful of the commissioners wishes did include a tourism component again in their request. If the new Board of County Commissioners believes there should not be a tourism component to these funding requests, I respectfully request that we ask the Nordic Council to resubmit their request without the tourism language. The Nordic Council does a tremendous amount of work in the winter in behalf of our community with only volunteers. This is a non-profit that the county can be proud of and proud to fund.

We should keep in mind that every improvement we make to parks, trails and open space will have a positive effect on tourism. Visitors and vacationers will use the Nordic trails, the town park and all of the other improvements that 1A funds have helped make possible.

I believe it would also be appropriate for the county to ask the Pagosa Springs Chamber of Commerce to resubmit their funding request for Town Park improvements minus the tourism language. As a citizen of the county I would like to see Town Park have the proper and safe infrastructure so when I, my friends and neighbors use it, the park is safe and functions well. Every event held at Town Park is open to local residents and in my mind those events are put on first and foremost for the community. I see these improvements no differently than the rest of the proposals the Open Space and Trail Task Force endorsed and the county has funded.

We have a new mix of county commissioners who have a different idea of what should be funded through the 1A open space and trails funds. I very much support those views. I believe that these two funding requests were addressing what the commissioners have required of them in the past and should not be denied because of it.

Sincerely,

Beverly Compton

Musical

Dear Editor:

I have always enjoyed the work presented in the form of plays or concerts from Music Boosters and the high school and now from the Black Box Theater at the arts center. But, the very best of everything took place last week on the high school stage. This happens to be the year when there was an abundance of strong male voices in the drama department, so why not try Les Miserables? It seems that there were no speaking parts; everything was done by singing. That meant memorizing both words and the proper musical notes. This wonderful large cast did just that to perfection. There were big crowds, and the orchestra. Volunteers from all around, and beautiful music. Several years ago, Dale Morris came to town and got involved. Dale told the students that they could sing and dance as much as they would like and they took it from there. We have been the winners as we enjoyed one performance after another. We are going to be winners again because many of these young people will be in South Pacific, which will be the next Music Boosters production some time around the Fourth of July.

Thank all of you who were involved in this wonderful play. I saw it open and close and I’m sorry they are finished.

Cindy Gustafson

Base fees

Dear Editor:

I view with very high disappointment and completely disagree with the recent “Water Reflections” article discussing PAWSD Rate Changes. How is the common community member going to realize the increase of $4 in wastewater and a revenue neutral rebalancing ($13.50 increases to $14.50) in the base rate? This is a regular household utility increase of $58 per year.

I do not contest to be a water infrastructure expert, but ...

I have been retired from the military for three years and I have not received a cost of living increase during this time. I now work for the county and have not received a cost of living increase or a salary increase. Social Security has not seen a cost of living increase as well. PAWSD needs to freeze their rates and salaries. Freeze their expansion and development. Company sustainment in these economic times needs to be the way ahead for the foreseeable future. The economy is resetting itself. The county is preparing for a decrease in the tax base to provide for essential services.

I understand what we have to do. It is called sustainment and good leadership. PAWSD needs to be a leader in providing utility services to our community. Let’s sustain the good services we have. Suspend the increases. A 14 percent wastewater and 7 percent base fee increase is unacceptable in today’s essential services. LPEA, Source Gas, what do you say in your base fees?

Bill McKown

Under a spell

Dear Editor:

Even the “ancient one” in Arboles, Mr. Bob Dungan, would have to agree, the Democratic Party is an assault on human dignity. The Democrat Party is an assault on freedom. The Democrat Party busts up American families. The Democrat Party denies individual ambition. It retards it. In exchange for their never-ending votes to the Democrat Party, minorities and any other constituent group are given handouts for their needs, and they are told by the Democrats that their economic situation was caused by the Republicans. (The civil rights coalition goes further. They say their economic situation has been caused by white people. The goal is the same — dependency.)

Any cut in social spending, no matter where, no matter how little, threatens this political arrangement. So the Democrat Party is lying in wait, using every tactic to enslave minorities, enslave the poor, exploit the lazy and those afraid to look out for themselves. The Democrat Party is waiting to glom onto them and basically turn them into parasites. It’s that process, which is destroying peoples’ dignity. The Democrats, of course, do this under the guise of compassion. They do it under the pretext of caring about the downtrodden, looking out for the little guy. It is a lie. Obama, Pelosi, Barney Frank, and Harry Reid are misfit frauds; they do not care about America.

As a conservative, I want the best for everyone. I believe in the power of the individual to be the best he or she can be, based on whatever degree of ambition and effort they want to apply. I prefer not to get in the way of that process because I want a great country. I want a roaring economy. I want economic prosperity for everyone. And I despise the notion of indentured people. How can anyone abide that in the wealthiest, most prosperous country in the history of humanity there are hordes of dependent people — who can and should be self-reliant. Everybody’s capable of it.

The Democrat Party robs people of this aspect of their character. Here’s how I look at it. We are commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, and we’re still trying to free the slaves from the Democrat Party.

You know it, and I know it. The very idea that they’re the ones credited with supposed compassion, as they actively destroy people’s lives and futures, is what really angers me. Meanwhile, the hysterical reaction to the serious proposals being made by conservatives to reduce the size of government is very significant. The left is in utter panic. The Democrats know that they would not be able to continue their hold over parts of the public were it not for the slavish media that constantly espouses their message, functioning as a public relations arm. They know the tenuous hold they have on people, and they worry constantly that the spell will be broken.